Best of
Geography

2006

Adèle & Simon


Barbara McClintock - 2006
    Ad�le makes Simon promise to try not to lose anything. But as they make their way home, distractions cause Simon to leave something behind at every stop. What will they tell their mother?Detailed pen-and-ink drawings - filled with soft watercolors - make a game of this unforgettable tour through the streets and scenes of early-twentieth-century Paris. Illustrated endpapers extend the fun by replicating a 1907 Baedeker map of Paris.Adèle & Simon is a 2006 New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Book of the Year and a 2007 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

Home Ground: Language for an American Landscape


Barry Lopez - 2006
    The result is a major enterprise comprising over 850 descriptions, 100 line drawings, and 70 quotations from works by Willa Cather, Truman Capote, John Updike, Cormac McCarthy, and others. Carefully researched and exquisitely written by talents such as Barbara Kingsolver, Lan Samantha Chang, Robert Hass, Terry Tempest Williams, Jon Krakauer, Gretel Ehrlich, Luis Alberto Urrea, Antonya Nelson, Charles Frazier, Linda Hogan, and Bill McKibben, Home Ground is a striking composite portrait of the landscape. At the heart of this expansive work is a community of writers in service to their country, emphasizing a language that suggests the vastness and mystery that lie beyond our everyday words.

Demonic Grounds: Black Women And The Cartographies Of Struggle


Katherine McKittrick - 2006
    In Canada, the Caribbean, and the United States, black women inhabit diasporic locations marked by the legacy of violence and slavery. Analyzing diverse literatures and material geographies, McKittrick reveals how human geographies are a result of racialized connections, and how spaces that are fraught with limitation are underacknowledged but meaningful sites of political opposition. Demonic Grounds moves between past and present, archives and fiction, theory and everyday, to focus on places negotiated by black women during and after the transatlantic slave trade. Specifically, the author addresses the geographic implications of slave auction blocks, Harriet Jacobs’s attic, black Canada and New France, as well as the conceptual spaces of feminism and Sylvia Wynter’s philosophies. Central to McKittrick’s argument are the ways in which black women are not passive recipients of their surroundings and how a sense of place relates to the struggle against domination. Ultimately, McKittrick argues, these complex black geographies are alterable and may provide the opportunity for social and cultural change. Katherine McKittrick is assistant professor of women’s studies at Queen’s University.

Our 50 States: Our 50 States


Lynne Cheney - 2006
    Travel a few miles in any direction, and you'll encounter an amazing story that helps explain all the multitude of ways our country came to be." -- Lynne CheneyLynne Cheney and Robin Preiss Glasser, creators of the bestselling America: A Patriotic Primer and A is for Abigail: An Almanac of Amazing American Women, take you on an unforgettable tour of America -- from the Everglades of Florida to the grasslands of Kentucky to the Sierra Mountains of California.Listening to her grandchildren's enthusiastic account of all they saw and did on a family road trip inspired Lynne Cheney to collaborate with Robin Preiss Glasser and create Our 50 States -- the greatest family vacation imaginable. Pack your bags and celebrate our diverse heritage state by state and sea to shining sea in this treasure trove of America's people, places, and history.A scholar of American history, Mrs. Cheney has drawn on a lifetime of study and travel for Our 50 States. Robin Preiss Glasser has brought her inimitable wit and exuberance to every illustration. Together they have created a joyful book that reminds us how fortunate we are to call America our home.

Work: The World in Photographs


Ferdinand Protzman - 2006
    We see cowboys and clowns, dancers and dog groomers, miners and models. On one page, drill sergeants bark orders to U.S. Navy recruits; on another, young Tibetan monks study Buddhist scriptures; and on another, Kenyan women spread coffee beans to dry. Work is a subject that is both worldwide and personal. It is a shared endeavor at the very core of our identity. From the glamour of a Parisian fashion show to the grit of an African diamond mine, there are countless ways to make a living. The book illuminates scores of them many in never-before-published photographs offering revealing glimpses into various eras and cultures and engaging the reader with entertaining text and informative captions. With a wonderful mix of the utterly unexpected and the instantly familiar, this vivid panorama takes an essential human activity and shows us myriad ways in which work is at once universal and delightfully, unforgettably unique."

The Journey: Stories of Migration


Cynthia Rylant - 2006
    Rylant's lively, poetic prose and Davis' exquisite, dramatic paintings offer an awe-inspiring look at the animal world and the outstanding tests of endurance and strength that the animals have undergone for centuries, and which continue to cycle on and inspire us today.

Understories: The Political Life of Forests in Northern New Mexico


Jake Kosek - 2006
    Rather than reproduce traditional understandings of nature and environment, Jake Kosek shifts the focus toward material and symbolic “natures,” seemingly unchangeable essences central to formations of race, class, and nation that are being remade not just through conflicts over resources but also through everyday practices by Chicano activists, white environmentalists, and state officials as well as nuclear scientists, heroin addicts, and health workers. Drawing on two years of ethnographic fieldwork and extensive archival research, he shows how these contentious natures are integral both to environmental politics and the formation of racialized citizens, politicized landscapes, and modern regimes of rule.Kosek traces the histories of forest extraction and labor exploitation in northern New Mexico, where Hispano residents have forged passionate attachments to place. He describes how their sentiments of dispossession emerged through land tenure systems and federal management programs that remade forest landscapes as exclusionary sites of national and racial purity. Fusing fine-grained ethnography with insights gleaned from cultural studies and science studies, Kosek shows how the nationally beloved Smokey the Bear became a symbol of white racist colonialism for many Hispanos in the region, while Los Alamos National Laboratory, at once revered and reviled, remade regional ecologies and economies. Understories offers an innovative vision of environmental politics, one that challenges scholars as well as activists to radically rework their understandings of relations between nature, justice, and identity.

The Big Book of Questions and Answers


Jane Parker Resnick - 2006
    Packed with fascinating information and humorous illustrations, this book is an outstanding addition to t a home library. From how much the Earth weighs to who invented the chocolate bar, this educational resource will keep children learning - and laughing. It's surely the most fun-filled question and answer book ever created for kids of all ages!

Geographies of New Orleans: Urban Fabrics Before the Storm


Richard Campanella - 2006
    "Geographies of New Orleans" integrates hundreds of historical sources with custom-made maps, graphs, photos, and satellite images to explore the intricate urban fabrics of one of the world's most fascinating cities from its fragile deltaic terrain to its striking built environment, from its diverse ethnic makeup to its devastation by Hurricane Katrina.

Connemara: Listening to the Wind


Tim Robinson - 2006
    With Connemara, he creates an indelible portrait of a small corner of the world. From the unmarked graves of unbaptized infants to the shimmering peaks of the Twelve Pins, Robinson brings his close attention and dazzling prose to describe the mountains, bogs, shorelines, and landscape of his home and, at the same time, make a great statement about the world at large.

Cave Geology


Arthur N. Palmer - 2006
    It can be easily understood by non-scientists but also covers a wide range of topics in enough detail to be used by advanced researchers. Illustrated with more than 500 black-and-white photographs and 250 diagrams and maps, this book is dedicated to anyone with an interest in caves and their origin.

National Geographic Concise History of the World: An Illustrated Time Line


Neil Kagan - 2006
    Few references are as invaluable, all-inclusive, and satisfying to browse. For readers of all ages, world history is easily accessible, depicted as never before—so that events occurring simultaneously around the world can be viewed at-a-glance together. For example, Texas Instruments launched the pocket calculator the same year the Soviet Union launched the first manned space station, in 1971. Columbus sailed from Spain the year Martin Behaim constructed a terrestrial globe in Nuremberg. The California Gold Rush followed the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s, and the Greek dictatorship of Papadopoulos is overthrown the same year Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia is deposed and U.S. president Nixon resigns, in 1974. The book's innovative time line truly sets it apart, allowing readers to scan across a spread and explore a single area or compare contemporary societies across the globe. This remarkable resource also contains dozens of maps; scores of sidebars; hundreds of illustrations; and thousands of events, milestones, personalities, ideas, and inventions. Throughout, vivid illustrations depict artworks, artifacts, portraits and dramatic scenes, while sidebar topics range from local customs and lifestyles to the effect of climate change on human migration. Drawing on National Geographic's vast resources, this concise yet comprehensive, one-of-a-kind work is as rewarding as it is compulsively readable.

Homelands: Women’s Journeys Across Race, Place, and Time


Patricia Justine Tumang - 2006
    Approaching the topic from varying perspectives — exile, longing, belonging, diaspora, idealization — they show that “homeland” isn't just a physical place. It can also be an imagined community, a part of one's identity, or simply a wavering memory. It’s a world we create and re-create every day.Among the contributors are Etel Adnan, who describes her life as an exile from Beruit after choosing to leave a city at war. Agate Nesaule, who as a youngster left Latvia under Nazi and Soviet threat, writes of envying a young Latvian girl's life, rich in place, language, and music. Sarah McCormic echoes the experience of many “American mutts” who can claim so many heritages that they feel a connection to none.The writers in this collection beautifully capture the complicated notion of homeland and reflect the diversity of women's realities in the world.

England In Particular


Sue Clifford - 2006
    . . It should join Shakespeare and the Bible as a "must have" on any English man or woman's desert island'HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALLApples, bandstands, causeways dialect, fens, gargoyles, heaths,ice houses, jet, lagoons, maypoles, nightingales, primrose banks, quicksand, rhubarb, sheep, terraced houses, weather, zawns...England is a land of extraordinary variety, rich in buildings, landscapes, peoples and wildlife. But this diversity is under siege. Mass production, fashion, increased mobility and the forceful promotion of corporate identity have brought with them standardised shop fronts, farm buildings, factories, forests and front doors, while intensive farming has created a bland, empty countryside.ENGLAND IN PARTICULAR is a counterblast against loss and uniformity, and a celebration of just some of the distinctive details that cumulatively make England. It is the culmination of more than twenty years' work by Sue Clifford and Angela King, who founded Common Ground with Roger Deakin.ENGLAND IN PARTICULAR is a ground-breaking work, destined to become a classic.Two pocket-sized hardback editions of extracted essays from ENGLAND IN PARTICULAR are also available: JOURNEYS THROUGH ENGLAND IN PARTICULAR: COASTING and JOURNEYS THROUGH ENGLAND IN PARTICULAR: ON FOOT.

100 Wonders of the World


Michael Hoffmann - 2006
    In everyday language we often use the term more loosely: a wonder is something that astounds us, inspiring spontaneous applause or a gasp of disbelief.

The Legend of Michigan


Trinka Hakes Noble - 2006
    Long ago, "Michigane" was covered with snow and ice - until a young boy and an old warrior brought hope and warmth to the frozen land.

National Geographic Family Reference Atlas of the World


National Geographic Society - 2006
    Upgrades include a completely revamped and much expanded section on Europe, 32 new inset maps detailing the smaller Caribbean islands, and even a new spread on Mars highlighting spectacular images from the latest mission. A comprehensive index makes it easy to pinpoint more than 40,000 locations all over the globe. Need to know the population of Brunei, what the weather's like in San Juan in March, or how to use metric conversions? These answers and thousands more are at your fingertips. Readers learn about the planet itself--landforms, the biosphere, continental drift, environmental change--and the human world's many dimensions, from political, religious, and economic data to population trends and the effect of globalization. The atlas even reaches beyond Earth to explore the solar system, the Milky Way, and the Universe. The Family Reference Atlas of the World continues a proud tradition of cartographic excellence at an affordable price.

Emotions and Multilingualism


Aneta Pavlenko - 2006
    This book will appeal to scholars and researchers across many discplines.

The Secrets Of Ireland


Kevin Eyres - 2006
    From familiar tourist spots to seldom-seen vistas, this stunning new illustrated book captures the country as you've never seen it before. It covers the whole of the Emerald Isle from Ulster North to Munster South, from Giant's Causeway to the Cliffs of Moher.

London: A Life in Maps


Peter Whitfield - 2006
    From Big Ben to the grimy Victorian streets of Dickens novels on up to the sleek high-rises that dot the skyline of the twenty-first-century metropolis, the urban landscape of London is steeped in history, while forever responsive to the changing dictates of progress, industry, and culture. In London: A Life in Maps, acclaimed historian Peter Whitfield reveals a wealth of surprising truths and forgotten facts hidden in the city’s historic maps.Whitfield examines nearly 200 maps spanning the last 500 years, all of which vividly demonstrate the vast changes wrought on London’s streets, open spaces, and buildings. In a rich array of colorful cartographic illustrations, the maps chronicle London’s tumultuous history, from the devastation of the Great Fire to the indelible marks left by World Wars I and II to the emergence of the West End as a fashion mecca. Whitfield reads historic sketches and detailed plans as biographical keys to this complex, sprawling urban center, and his in-depth examination unearths fascinating insights into the city of black cabs and red double-deckers. With engaging prose and astute analysis he also expertly coaxes out the subtle complexities—of social history, urban planning, and design—within the rich documentation of London’s immense and constantly changing cityscape.London: A Life in Maps lets readers wander through the past and present of London’s celebrated streets—from Abbey Road to Savile Row—and along the way reveals the city’s captivating history, vibrant culture, and potential future.

Paths to Peace: People Who Changed the World: People Who Changed the World


Jane Breskin Zalben - 2006
    Mahatma Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Cesar Chavez,Aung San Suu Kyi, and the most recent Nobel Prize winner, Dr.Wangari Maathai, are some of thepeople she chose to represent different eras and parts of the globe. Many started down their path to peace during childhood, and all challenge us to think about improving the lives of others. Also included in this beautiful volume are art notes, a glossary, a bibliography, further reading, and an index, making it an excellent resource for teachers and students.

101 Places You Gotta See Before You're 12!


Joanne O'Sullivan - 2006
    But how can they start uncovering the many treasures that await them? This fun and informative guidebook—the first in a new series—invites kids to embark on an exhilarating scavenger hunt that opens their eyes to things they’ve never imagined before. And there’s no need to go far or plan a big, expensive vacation to see this great stuff. In fact, some of the places may be quite close to home. They can take a peek at what actually goes on at their parents’ office, experience another culture’s cuisine at an ethnic restaurant, immerse themselves in the beauty of nature at a wildlife preserve, or get the inside scoop on what really happens backstage at the theater…or even in the teacher’s lounge! And the ideas are just general enough to provide a gentle push in the right direction, while allowing young dreamers to use their imagination and fill in the specifics.In addition to tons of fun facts, lists of little-known sites, and more than 250 color photos, there’s a bonus fold-out map of North America and stickers, so youngsters can mark where they’ve been.

Galápagos: The Islands That Changed the World


Paul D. Stewart - 2006
    Its geology, its unique flora and fauna, and its striking role in human history intersect in surprising and dynamic ways. This book is the most wide-ranging and beautifully illustrated book available on the famous islands. Not since Darwin’s Naturalist’s Voyage has a book combined so much scientific and historic information with firsthand accounts that bring the Galápagos to life.Galápagos: The Islands That Changed the World describes how tragedy and murderous pirates curtailed settlement of the islands and how the islands’ pristine nature, spectacular geology, and defining isolation inspired Darwin’s ideas about evolution. The book explores the diverse land and marine habitats that shelter Galápagos species and considers the islands’ importance today as a frontier for science and a refuge for true wilderness. The book’s extensive gazetteer provides details about endemic plants and animals as well as travel advice about visitors’ sites, diving, photography, when to go, and what to take. Vividly illustrated throughout, this guide is an indispensable reference for natural history enthusiasts, armchair travelers, and island visitors alike.

Mackinac Bridge: The Story of the Five Mile Poem


Gloria Whelan - 2006
    As young Mark witnesses the building of the new Mackinac Bridge, he is torn between family loyalty and eager anticipation. He can't help being awestruck by the majesty of the five-mile-long bridge that will connect the two peninsulas and change the lives of so many. But the Mighty Mac will also put Mark's father out of business. As his father struggles with the flow of progress, Mark dreams of future bridges he will build. Details of the complex construction of the bridge will fascinate children as they learn an important part of America's history and come to understand the meaning of change. The Mackinac Bridge Authority provides history notes at the back of the book.

Commercial Geography for Intermediate Classes


Fazle Karim Khan - 2006
    A revised and enlarged edition of this established text book for intermediate students, this text covers commercial geography in Pakistan and throughout the world in a single volume.

Satellites: Photographs from the Fringes of the Former Soviet Union


Jonas Bendiksen - 2006
    Now each region is on its own in a chaotic political environment, sometimes without diplomatic recognition from neighbors, much less the international community. Abkhazia, an unrecognized country on the Black Sea, was once the natural pearl of the empire, where bellicose generals and productive factory managers came to relax. The spacecraft crash zones between Russia and Kazakhstan reveal a Soviet-inflected version of the entrepreneurial spirit. In Transdniester, a breakaway region of Moldova that survives by functioning as a giant black market for illicit traffic in all manner of goods, from leftover Soviet munitions to bootlegged booze, Bendiksen was expelled on the grounds that he was a "protagonist in an international spy ring." These 62 hauntingly beautiful and often arresting color photographs unsentimentally reveal the often grim circumstances in these half-forgotten regions, uniformly poor and polluted, and often politically unstable. We may not hear much about them today, but we will certainly hear more as the fall of the Iron Curtain continues to reverberate throughout the region.

Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045-771 BC


Li Feng - 2006
    This book addresses the complex relationship between geography and political power within the context of the crisis and fall of that state between 1045SH771 B.C. Drawing on the latest archaeological discoveries, the book shows how inscribed bronze vessels can be used to reveal changes in the political space of the period, and explores literary and geographical evidence to produce a coherent understanding of the Bronze Age past.

Encyclopedia of Appalachia


Rudy Abramson - 2006
    There is a pervasive perception of the region as a hinterland inhabited by a backward and developmentally stunted people. Economically, culturally, and technologically suspended in an era gone by, this Appalachia is regarded as one of America's enduring social and economic problems. But there is another perception of Appalachia-home to the beautiful mountain system for which the region is named. It is a quaint retreat into the past, reflecting the integrity of a people with a pioneering spirit and lifestyle that pays homage to a simpler time. Until now, there has been no general reference work that captures the complexities of this enigmatic region. The only guide of its kind, the Encyclopedia of Appalachia is replete with information on every aspect of Appalachia's history, land, culture, and people. Containing more than 2,000 entries in 30 sections, the Encyclopedia is designed for quick reference and access to the information you need to know. Teachers, students, scholars, historians, and browsers with a passing interest in this beautiful and richly distinct region will quickly come to rely on the Encyclopedia of Appalachia as the authoritative resource on Appalachia's past and present. The Encyclopedia details subjects traditionally associated with Appalachia-folklore, handcrafts, mountain music, foods, and coal mining-but goes far beyond regional stereotypes to treat such wide-ranging topics as the aerospace industry, Native American foodways, ethnic diversity in the coalfields, education reform, linguistic variation, and the contested notion of what it means to be Appalachian, both inside and outside the region.Researched and developed by the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services at East Tennessee State University, this 1,840-page compendium includes all thirteen states that constitute the northern, central, and southern subregions of Appalachia-from New York to Mississippi. With thorough, detailed, yet accessible entries on everything from Adventists to zinc mining, the Encyclopedia of Appalachia is an indispensable, one-stop guide to all things Appalachian.

Mwakwa--Talks to the Loon


Dale Auger - 2006
    Eventually, Kayas takes his great gift for granted and, as a result, the gift becomes lost to him and his people grow hungry. This illustrated book is written in English, but includes Cree words, along with a glossary and Cree pronunciation guide.

A Year of Adventures: A Guide to What, Where and When to Do It


Andrew Bain - 2006
    Discover a whole range of extraordinary experiences, including snow biking in France, volcano boarding in Nicaragua, kayaking with orcas in Canada and sailing the Whitsunday Islands. Choose from over 250 experiences in 115 countries, some to challenge you, some to enjoy at a leisurely pace, and catering to all fitness levels. After all, adventure doesn’t need to mean hardship. Be inspired and plan a year to remember!-Organized by month and week to allow you to plan the best adventure at the best time of year. -Country and Activity indexes provide easy access: search by the destination of your next holiday, or by the adventure you want to experience. -Includes links for further information on adventure events throughout the book.

Song of Waitaha: Histories of a Nation


Barry Brailsford - 2006
    Now the brave ancestors we have hidden for so long stand again for all to see. With these words the Elders of Waitaha tell us that their ancient and sacred lore is shared for the first time. Bound in secrecy for centuries, protected through the ages by those who gave their lives to keep it safe, this knowledge travels out of the past to be revealed in Song of Waitaha . For years New Zealand archaeologists have been puzzled by a people who lived without weapons and created trading systems that moved industrial stone the length of the country. These writings explain they were a peaceful confederation of over two hundred iwi known as the Nation . It tells their story from the dawntime of exploration and settlement to the final days. Song of Waitaha repairs the torn fabric of our past and opens doors into the future. If we are not gentle with life, the garden within us dies. The Histories tell of a society where many peoples walked in harmony with each other. It shows how they honored the land and waters to sustain life harvesting birds and fish to increase the numbers, cutting tall trees for waka and leaving the forest stronger, carving stone without breaking its spirit, respecting the rivers keeping the environment in balance. This treasure from the days of the ancestors journeys out of timeless realms where the people and the land were one beneath the stars. It carries wisdom born of the ancient trails of the spirit and adds a thousand years of wonder to our past. It reminds us if we lose our story we lose our dream.

The Will To Survive: A History Of Hungary


Bryan Cartledge - 2006
    The Mongol, Ottoman, Habsburg, Nazi and Soviet empires have all since vanished; but Hungary, a victim of all five and despite suffering the consequences of being on the losing side in every war she has fought, still occupies the territory the Magyar tribes claimed for themselves in the ninth century. The eleven hundred years covered by this stirring account embrace medieval greatness, Turkish occupation, Habsburg domination, unsuccessful struggles for independence, massive deprivation of territory and population after the First World War, a disastrous alliance with Nazi Germany motivated by the hope of redress, and forty years of Soviet-imposed Communism interrupted by a gallant but brutally suppressed revolution in 1956.

Victorian Honeymoons: Journeys to the Conjugal


Helena Michie - 2006
    Although the term 'honeymoon' was coined in the eighteenth century, the ritual increased in popularity throughout the Victorian period, until by the end of the century it became a familiar accompaniment to the wedding for all but the poorest classes. Using letters and diaries of 61 real-life honeymooning couples, as well as novels from Frankenstein to Middlemarch that feature honeymoon scenarios, Michie explores the cultural meanings of the honeymoon, arguing that, with its emphasis on privacy and displacement, the honeymoon was central to emerging ideals of conjugality and to ideas of the couple as a primary social unit.

Big Alaska: Journey Across America's Most Amazing State


Debbie S. Miller - 2006
    Alaska is our biggest state, but it is also one of the least populated, making it an enormous span of natural wonders and astonishing wilderness. This unique place is home to the tallest mountain, the most active volcanoes, and the largest land mammals in North America. See hundred-pound salmon, two-ton walruses, and thundering herds of caribou. Take wing through mountains covered with glaciers, fly under the cover of lush rain forests, and circle over barren Arctic tundras.

Freedom Ship


Doreen Rappaport - 2006
    Every day they look beyond the harbor filled with Confederate ships, to the Atlantic Ocean, where the Union ships are--and potentially, their freedom. If only they could get to those ships somehow....Then, on May13, 1862, Samuel and his family risk it all to be free. Based on a true story, Doreen Rappaport weaves a riveting tale of a boy and his family aboard the gunboat Planter. Captained by Robert Smalls and loaded with fellow slaves, the ship flees to the Union fleet to gain freedom from slavery and deliver much-needed ammunition to the Union Navy. Rappaport's suspenseful account, illustrated with the moody paintings of Curtis James, creates a vivid and relatable picture of this little-known tale of the civil war.

The Art of City-Making


Charles Landry - 2006
    The skills required to re-enchant the city are far wider than the conventional ones like architecture, engineering and land-use planning. There is no simplistic, ten-point plan, but strong principles can help send good city-making on its way. The vision for 21st century cities must be to be the most imaginative cities for the world rather than in the world. This one change of word - from 'in' to 'for' - gives city-making an ethical foundation and value base. It helps cities become places of solidarity where the relations between the individual, the group, outsiders to the city and the planet are in better alignment. Following the widespread success of The Creative City, this new book, aided by international case studies, explains how to reassess urban potential so that cities can strengthen their identity and adapt to the changing global terms of trade and mass migration. It explores the deeper fault-lines, paradoxes and strategic dilemmas that make creating the 'good city' so difficult.

Overlook: Exploring the Internal Fringes of America with the Center for Land Use Interpretation


Matthew Coolidge - 2006
    The Center's aim is to increase and diffuse information about how the nation's lands are apportioned, utilized and perceived. Recent examples of their work include a two-day "Tour of the Monuments of the Great American Void" by bus and the exhibit Immersed Remains: Towns Submerged in America. This book takes readers on a tour through the strangely unfamiliar land that Americans live in, demonstrating that we can understand ourselves and the nation by examining the clues on display all around us, often clearly visible but ignored. Each chapter explores a different topic, from an in-depth look at Ohio ("the most all-American state"); through scale shifts in model landscapes, exemplified in the three largest hydraulic models in the world; and law-enforcement training environments that "simulate" public space. Readers can dive into the hidden and enchanting world of show caves, where America is on display underground; and come up into the Great Basin, a zone covering most of Nevada, and portions of Utah, California, Oregon, Idaho and Mexico, whose network of watersheds has no outlet to the ocean. Following lines and edges, through cities, suburbs, small towns and wide-open spaces, the Center guides us upstream, toward the heart of another America--the same, but different.

Count Your Way Through South Africa


James Haskins - 2006
    Learn about many of South Africas unique features, from one gold nugget to the six colors on the South African flag. Colorful illustrations bring South Africa to life.

Glacier National Park


Bill Yenne - 2006
    Located astride both the Continental Divide and Hudson Bay Divide, Glacier contains Triple Divide Peak, the only point in North America from which the waters drain into three oceans. The land that George Bird Grinnell called the "Crown of the Continent" and that John Muir described as "the best care-killing scenery on the continent" has been delighting visitors since well before it was set aside as a park in 1910. Through the years, countless people have come to Glacier to hike its nearly thousand miles of trails, marvel at its unrivalled scenery, and drive the Going-to-the-Sun Road, America's most spectacular alpine highway. Glacier is also home to remote mountain chalets and magnificent grand lodges. While most national parks have a singular signature lodge, Glacier has three.

The Sun King's Garden: Louis XIV, Andre le Notre and the Creation of the Gardens of Versailles


Ian Thompson - 2006
    At Versailles, twelve miles outside Paris, France's self-styled "Sun King" created not only Europe's most lavish palace, but, beginning in 1661, the most extensive gardens the Western world has ever seen. Assisting Louis in this enterprise was the low-born gardener André Le Nôtre, whose character and temperament were as different from those of his sovereign as it is possible to conceive. Where Louis was ruthless and relentlessly driven, Le Nôtre was down to earth, witty and amiable – and also phenomenally talented. While Louis could strike fear into the highest in the land with just a look, Le Nôtre enjoyed the king's trust and friendship for more than 40 years. In this lavishly illustrated book, Ian Thompson tells more comprehensively than ever before the intertwined stories of an extraordinary garden and an extraordinary friendship.

The Kingfisher Atlas of the Ancient World


Simon Adams - 2006
    and A.D. 1000. Each stunning map shows the major sites from a particular civilization or group of civilizations, with their cities, temples, palaces, farmers, and traders brought vividly to life with detailed picture symbols. Feature spreads use photographs of cultural and architectural artifacts, as well as additional information, to focus in greater depth on the key cultures of Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Good Night Florida


Adam Gamble - 2006
    It highlights a lot of the state`s attractions. This book is an entertaining tour of a state for children.

Great Salt Lake


Mary Schulte - 2006
    - Includes at least one map.- Words You Know section reinforces the text.- Photographs are directly related to the text.- High interest topic introduces early readers to basic geographic facts.- Excellent introduction to travel guides.Curriculum Standards: Grades K-4 Social Studies StandardsCulture: I- People, societies, and cultures address needs and concerns in ways that are both similar and differentTime, Continuity, and Change: II- Accounts of past events, people, places, and situations contribute to our understanding of the pastPeople, Places, and Environments: III- Locate and distinguish among various landforms such as mountains, plateaus, islands, and oceans

Let Every Breath... Secrets of the Russian Breath Masters


Vladimir Vasiliev - 2006
    This groundbreaking manual on Systema Breathing presents step-by-step training drills given to you in a thorough and comprehensive way. You will learn the unique methodology of Systema Breathing and get the foundation for every physical activity of your daily life. Whether you are looking to raise your athletic skills to the next level, or wish to increase your potential and to enjoy life, this is your tool to uncover the endless reserve of energy, health and happiness. At the same time, it is very easy reading, full of entertaining stories and thought provoking ideas.

Going-To-The-Sun Road: Glacier National Park's Highway to the Sky


C.W. Guthrie - 2006
    Laborers toiled for nearly 20 years to complete the 50-mile road that winds an impossible route through the heart of Glacier. One of the most scenic highways in the world, this marvel of engineering set the standard for all national parks. C. W. Guthrie tells the intruiging tale of the history and the construction of the epic Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Spectacular Scotland


James Gracie - 2006
    This magical destination is profiled in all its variety, including lofty mountains, misty glens, and fascinating cities such as elegant, historic Edinburgh and innovative Glasgow. Here too are sumptuous surveys of the splendid coastline, glorious islands, white sand beaches, and exotic gardens that make the country a favored destination of tourists and a source of pride to those who live there.

National Geographic Collegiate Atlas of the World


National Geographic Society - 2006
    This compact, easy-to-use format is the first product built on our newly developed, cutting-edge cartographic database. It offers the convenience of smaller scale without sacrificing clarity or detail; instead, identically-scaled maps on a given continent enable readers to compare physical, political, and regional information simply and accurately. After a fascinating explanation of the latest technology, the atlas examines our world as a whole, presenting 25 global themes, from tectonics, the biosphere, and energy sources to population, health, literacy, and more, along with such timely topics as environmental stress and flash points for conflict and terror. Next it explores each continent with special spreads assessing the global economic impact of each. The oceans and the polar regions follow providing complete, consistent coverage. Finally, comprehensive appendices present world political information, statistics, and geographic comparisons organized for quick and easy reference. In addition, access to a companion web site will provide continuing and complimentary information making this Atlas truly state-of-the-art and up-to-the-minute.

With Speed and Violence: Why Scientists Fear Tipping Points in Climate Change


Fred Pearce - 2006
    Where once scientists were concerned about gradual climate change, now more and more of them fear we will soon be dealing with abrupt change resulting from triggering hidden tipping points. Even President Bush's top climate modeler, Jim Hansen, warned in 2005 that "we are on the precipice of climate system tipping points beyond which there is no redemption."As Pearce began working on this book, normally cautious scientists beat a path to his door to tell him about their fears and their latest findings. With Speed and Violence tells the stories of these scientists and their work—from the implications of melting permafrost in Siberia and the huge river systems of meltwater beneath the icecaps of Greenland and Antarctica to the effects of the "ocean conveyor" and a rare molecule that runs virtually the entire cleanup system for the planet. Above all, the scientists told him what they're now learning about the speed and violence of past natural climate change-and what it portends for our future. With Speed and Violence is the most up-to-date and readable book yet about the growing evidence for global warming and the large climatic effects it may unleash.

Historical Atlas of the United States: With Original Maps


Derek Hayes - 2006
    Covering more than half a millennium in U.S. history—from conception to colonization to Hurricane Katrina—this atlas documents the discoveries and explorations, the intrigue and negotiations, the technology and the will that led the United States to become what it is today. Richly detailed, visually breathtaking maps are accompanied by extended captions that elucidate the stories and personalities behind their creation. Coasts and mountains, rivers and lakes, and peaks and plains are described by explorers encountering them for the first time. These maps can convey explorers' ideas of what lay over the mountains ahead, their notions about what was discovered, and their explanations of the land's potential for sponsors back home. The maps can also show a promoter's attempt to sell his project to settlers or a general's assessment of a coming battle. They chart the wars that created and molded the country: the French and Indian War and the War for Independence; the Mexican and Civil Wars; the numerous Indian wars; as well as more localized battles of conquest and survival. Readers can follow the progression of map creation and design as more knowledge was gained about the American continent. Distilling an enormous amount of information into one handsome volume, the Historical Atlas of the United States highlights the evolution of geographical knowledge at the same time that it presents a fascinating chronicle of the expansion and development of a nation.Copub: Douglas & McIntyre

Good Night Washington, DC


Adam Gamble - 2006
    This charming and educational board book tours young readers around the magnificent city of Washington DC. Children will be lulled into a peaceful night's sleep after visiting the area's most treasured icons and famous landmarks.This book is part of the bestselling Good Night Our World series, which includes hundreds of titles exploring iconic locations and exciting, child-friendly themes.Many of North America's most beloved regions are artfully celebrated in these board books designed to soothe children before bedtime while instilling an early appreciation for North America's natural and cultural wonders. Each book stars a multicultural group of people visiting the featured area's attractions as rhythmic language guides children through the passage of both a single day and the four seasons while saluting the iconic aspects of each place.

Filipino Friends


Liana Romulo - 2006
    Each watercolor illustration is labeled with English words and their Filipino translations and shows readers both the similarities and differences between Western and Philippine lifestyles. Filipino Friends, perfect for Filipino-American's or those just interested in the culture, is indispensable in bridging the gap between the two cultures.Following the sweet multicultural children's story, kids will learn about Philippine customs and traditions, including:Filipino festivals and celebrationsTraditional dressSnacks and mealsSongs and gamesThe Filipino language—Tagalog—and more!

The Disenchantment of the Orient: Expertise in Arab Affairs and the Israeli State


Gil Eyal - 2006
    But following the creation of the state, these experts took up a new role: creating boundaries (both external and internal) between Jews and Arabs, purifying the hybrids that inevitably exist on the margins of boundaries. The enchanted space of the Orient was destroyed, and its place was taken by expert discourses that reinforce the cultural separation between Jews and Arabs.

Documenting Domestication: New Genetic and Archaeological Paradigms


Melinda A. Zeder - 2006
    In the last decade, significant technological and methodological advances in both molecular biology and archaeology have revolutionized the study of plant and animal domestication and are reshaping our understanding of the transition from foraging to farming, one of the major turning points in human history. This groundbreaking volume for the first time brings together leading archaeologists and biologists working on the domestication of both plants and animals to consider a wide variety of archaeological and genetic approaches to tracing the origin and dispersal of domesticates. It provides a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in this quickly changing field as well as reviews of recent findings on specific crop and livestock species in the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa. Offering a unique global perspective, it explores common challenges and potential avenues for future progress in documenting domestication.

The Prose of Things: Transformations of Description in the Eighteenth Century


Cynthia Sundberg Wall - 2006
    Woolf and other critics pointed out that early modern prose is full of things but bare of setting and description. Explaining how the empty, unvisualized spaces of such writings were transformed into the elaborate landscapes and richly upholstered interiors of the Victorian novel, Cynthia Sundberg Wall argues that the shift involved not just literary representation but an evolution in cultural perception. In The Prose of Things, Wall analyzes literary works in the contexts of natural science, consumer culture, and philosophical change to show how and why the perception and representation of space in the eighteenth-century novel and other prose narratives became so textually visible. Wall examines maps, scientific publications, country house guides, and auction catalogs to highlight the thickening descriptions of domestic interiors. Considering the prose works of John Bunyan, Samuel Pepys, Aphra Behn, Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, David Hume, Ann Radcliffe, and Sir Walter Scott, The Prose of Things is the first full account of the historic shift in the art of describing.

Hamish McHaggis and the Wonderful Water Wheel


Linda Strachan - 2006
    

Architects Without Frontiers


Esther Charlesworth - 2006
    But what political and aesthetic criteria should guide us in the rebuilding of cities devastated by war and natural calamities? The title of this timely and inspiring new book, Architects Without Frontiers, points to the potential for architects to play important roles in post-war relief and reconstruction. By working "sans fronti�res", Charlesworth suggests that architects and design professionals have a significant opportunity to assist peace-making and reconstruction efforts in the period immediately after conflict or disaster, when much of the housing, hospital, educational, transport, civic and business infrastructure has been destroyed or badly damaged. Through selected case studies, Charlesworth examines the role of architects, planners, urban designers and landscape architects in three cities following conflict - Beirut, Nicosia and Mostar - three cities where the mental and physical scars of violent conflict still remain. This book expands the traditional role of the architect from 'hero' to 'peacemaker' and discusses how design educators can stretch their wings to encompass the proliferating agendas and sites of civil unrest.

A Different Kind of War: The Un Sanctions Regime in Iraq


Hans C. von Sponeck - 2006
    It should be mandatory reading for all those politicians and their foreign-policy advisors who continue to consider sanctions an effective form of policy. The author not only offers us a critical, lucid, and well-informed survey of political developments in Iraq, but also a heart-rending account of the suffering of the Iraqi people. It was they who bore the brunt of the 13-year's sanctions, while the members of Saddam's regime continued to live in luxury and accumulate huge fortunes.H.-C. von Sponeck, the former -UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, - explores the UN's sanction policies against Iraq, their consequences, and the domestic conditions during this period. His extensive research is based on previously unpublished internal UN documents and discussions with UN decision makers (such as General Secretary Kofi Annan), Iraqi officials and politicians (including Saddam Hussein), and ordinary Iraqis. The author's findings question who really benefited from the program, what role the UN Security Council and its various member states played, and whether there were then and are today alternatives to the UN's Iraq policies.

The New Peasantries: Struggles For Autonomy And Sustainability In An Era Of Empire And Globalization


Jan Douwe van der Ploeg - 2006
    It argues that the peasant condition is characterized by a struggle for autonomy that finds expression in the creation and development of a self-governed resource base and associated forms of sustainable development. In this respect the peasant mode of farming fundamentally differs from entrepreneurial and corporate ways of farming. The author demonstrates that the peasantries are far from waning. Instead, both industrialized and developing countries are witnessing complex and richly chequered processes of 're-peasantization', with peasants now numbering over a billion worldwide. The author's arguments are based on three longitudinal studies (in Peru, Italy and The Netherlands) that span 30 years and provide original and thought-provoking insights into rural and agrarian development processes. The book combines and integrates different bodies of literature: the rich traditions of peasant studies, development sociology, rural sociology, neo-institutional economics and the recently emerging debates on Empire.

Inventing America: The Life of Benjamin Franklin


Mark Essig - 2006
    It has been speculated that if it were not for Franklin's amiable relationship with the French, France would not have come to America's aid.Using the same Museum in a Book format as the popular "Lewis and Clark on the Trail of Discovery" and "Great Maps of the Civil War," "Inventing America" brings Benjamin Franklin to life through words and removable documents such as:Map of Franklin's Philadelphia Portions of "Poor Richard's Almanack" Letters to his illegitimate son, William Franklin's edits to the Declaration of Independence

Northern Travel: Summer and Winter Pictures Of Sweden, Denmark and Lapland


Bayard Taylor - 2006
    His letters containing the accounts of his journey were published in newspapers then republished under the title Northern Travel: Summer and Winter Pictures. The book was published in London and New York in 1857. From this journey Taylor also got the material for his long, narrative poem "Lars."

S Is for Spirit Bear: A British Columbia Alphabet


G. Gregory Roberts - 2006
    Its diverse wildlife population includes killer whales, giant Pacific octopus, cougars, moose, grizzlies and spirit bears, a rare black bear that, because of a recessive gene, has all-white fur. Children will be awed to learn of legendary creatures reportedly sighted in British Columbia, such as the serpent-like lake demon called Ogopogo and the big-footed beast known as Sasquatch. They will also learn of Canada's Iceman, an ancient hunter whose body and clothing were nearly perfectly preserved in a glacier for more than 550 years. Capturing the essence of the richly varied regions and islands of British Columbia, S is for Spirit Bear takes children on a journey they will never forget.

Celebrate!: Connections Among Cultures


Jan Reynolds - 2006
    This volume looks at communities near and far, and explores the essence of celebrations the world over.

The Kingfisher Atlas of the Medieval World


Simon Adams - 2006
    500 to 1450, this book is sure to capture in the attention of students interested in knights and castles, Vikings, Crusades, the Aztecs, and the Incas. Each map shows the major sites associated with a particular medieval theme, with colorful picture icons revealing cities, palaces, religious buildings, farmers, traders, warriors, and much more. Additional feature spreads present in-depth information on the key topics of cathedrals and monasteries, Islamic culture, knights and castles, and the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. This atlas is the ideal companion to classroom study of medieval history or literature.

Vietnam: A Natural History


Eleanor Jane Sterling - 2006
    This book is the first comprehensive account of Vietnam’s natural history in English. Illustrated with maps, photographs, and thirty-five original watercolor illustrations, the book offers a complete tour of the country’s plants and animals along with a full discussion of the factors shaping their evolution and distribution.Separate chapters focus on northern, central, and southern Vietnam, regions that encompass tropics, subtropics, mountains, lowlands, wetland and river regions, delta and coastal areas, and offshore islands. The authors provide detailed descriptions of key natural areas to visit, where a traveler might explore limestone caves or glimpse some of the country’s twenty-seven monkey and ape species and more than 850 bird species. The book also explores the long history of humans in the country, including the impact of the Vietnam-American War on plants and animals, and describes current efforts to conserve Vietnam’s complex, fragile, and widely threatened biodiversity.

The Urban Design Reader


Michael Larice - 2006
    Forty-one generous selections include contributions from Le Corbusier and Jacobs through to Hayden and Gillham.This book provides an essential resource for students and practitioners of urban design, drawing together important but widely dispersed writings. Section and selection introductions are provided to assist students in understanding where readings come from and how they fit into the larger picture of the field of urban design.

Ogallala Blue: Water and Life on the Great Plains


William Ashworth - 2006
    A history of the Ogallala aquifer traces its formation after the retreat of the glaciers; its use by ancient tribes, center-pivot sprinkler systems, and sophisticated extraction technologies; and the risk factors for its eventual drying out.

The Oxford Companion to World Exploration


David Buisseret - 2006
    This coverage includes biographies, including Lewis and Clark, Ferdinand Magellan, Cheng Ho, Hern�n Cort�s, Ibn Battuta, Vitus Bering, and Christopher Columbus; national expeditions, including Portuguese, British, French, Chinese, Dutch, and Spanish; and navigational and marine sciences, such as navigational techniques, ancient and medieval navigation, ocean currents and winds, longitude, cartography, and aerial surveys. The Companion's temporal scope ranges from the ancient cultures of Egypt, Persia, Greece, Byzantium, China, Polynesia, and Rome, through to modern space exploration. The articles have been written by leading scholars from across the globe, utilizing the most current scholarship in the field of exploration studies.The Companion contains 800 entries, supplemented by 150 black-and-white and 50 full-color photographs and maps. Annotated primary source materials, such as travel logs and personal letters, supplement select biographies. Each entry is signed by a leading scholar in the field, contains a bibliography for further reading, and is cross-referenced to other useful points of interest within the Companion. Published in association with the Newberry Library in Chicago, the Companion reproduces more than 100 images from that institution's world-renowned collection.

Home Geography for Primary Grades


C.C. Long - 2006
    Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

The Geist Atlas of Canada: Meat Maps and Other Strange Cartographies


Melissa Edwards - 2006
    Canada is one complex country all right, and what better way to document its character than an atlas of Canadian place names as compiled by "Geist," the magazine of Canadian ideas and culture?This offbeat yet erudite collection of full-colour maps?many (but not all) of which have appeared in the magazine since 1995?includes a wide range of clearly Canadian subject matter from all points far and wide. The Meat Map of Canada features T-Bone Glacier, Yukon, Pork and Bean Point, Manitoba, and Burgerville, Ontario; the Angst Map of Canada locates Doom Mountain, BC, Dismal Creek, Alberta, and Port Disappointment, Newfoundland; and the Money Map of Canada lists Success, Saskatchewan, Silver Lake, Ontario, and Lac Spendet, Quebec.Each map is accompanied by the stories behind specific place names as well as fast and furious Canadian facts and trivia. The net result is a tongue-in-cheek snapshot of the essential Canadian character, in all its quirky glory.Other map subjects include: Apocalypse; Art; Atwood (Margaret); Automotive; Beer; Body Parts; Condiments; Doughnuts; Erotica; Gay and Lesbian; Hockey; International; Kitchen Implements; Literary; Loudmouths; Malls; Menstrual; Pets; Retail; Sartorial; and World's Largest.With an introduction by "Geist" editor Stephen Osborne.

The Oxford Handbook of Global Religions


Mark Juergensmeyer - 2006
    Comprising 60 essays, the volume focuses on communities rather than beliefs, symbols, or rites. It is organized into six sections corresponding to the major living religious traditions: the Indic cultural region, the Buddhist/Confucian, the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim regions, and the African cultural region. In each section an introductory essay discusses the social development of that religious tradition historically. The other essays cover the basic social factsthe communitys size, location, organizational and pilgrimage centers, authority figures, patterns of governance, major subgroups and schismsas well as issues regarding boundary maintenance, political involvement, role in providing cultural identity, and encounters with modernity. Communities in the diaspora and at the periphery are covered, as well as the central geographic regions of the religious traditions. Thus, for example, Islamic communities in Asia and the United States are included along with Islamic societies in the Middle East. The contributors are leading scholars of world religions, many of whom are also members of the communities they study. The essays are written to be informative and accessible to the educated public, and to be respectful of the viewpoints of the communities analyzed.

Seeing Through Maps: Many Ways to See the World


Denis Wood - 2006
    Maps imply a truth, but that truth can be quite skewed depending on the viewpoint of the map creator. This book takes a hard look at truth by carefully inspecting some familiar, and not-so-familiar, map images and exploring their significance. The normally staid world of geographers is unusually excited by this dramatic new approach to the meaning of images. Seeing Through Maps, however, extends beyond cartography. The book discusses how map projections provide information about countries, cultures, the world's peoples and their history. It also explains the principles and hidden messages contained in a number of unique maps and provocative images: Peters' Equal Area Projection, Van Sant's GeoSphere Map; Fuller's Dymaxion Map; a Toronto-centered world map; Minard's map of Napoleon's march on Moscow; Petit's map of African slave trading routes; a global warming map; and some intriguing, mind-stretching maps with south on top. "This [book] will encourage a spirited discussion of perceptions, world views, and the importance of…seeing things differently," says Government Training News. Ivor Miller (African Diaspora Studies, DePaul University) says it is "a beautiful study that prepares students to think using multiple perspectives." The book is suitable for social studies, global studies, and psychology courses in universities. THIS REVISED edition includes a cartogram of 2004 USA Election Results, Hobo-Dyer Projection maps, selected Chronology of Map Development, a new chapter(8)called, "Are Maps TALK instead of Pictures" which challenges the conventional notion that maps are representations of reality. Instead, the authors assert that maps are propositions or arguments, and used as tools of persuasion or exploitation.

The Making of Bronze Age Eurasia


Philip L. Kohl - 2006
    Philip L. Kohl outlines the long-term processes and patterns of interaction that link these groups together in a shared historical trajectory of development. Interactions took the form of the exchange of raw materials and finished goods, the spread and sharing of technologies, and the movements of peoples from one region to another. Kohl reconstructs economic activities from subsistence practices to the production and exchange of metals and other materials. He also examines long-term processes, such as the development of more mobile forms of animal husbandry, which were based on the introduction and large-scale utilization of oxen-drive wheeled wagons and, subsequently, the domestication and riding of horses; the spread of metalworking technologies and exploitation of new centers of metallurgical production; changes in systems of exchange from those dominated by the movement of luxury goods to those in which materials essential for maintaining and securing the reproduction of the societies participating in the exchange network accompanied and/or supplanted the trade in precious materials; and increasing evidence for militarism and political instabilities as reflected in shifts in settlement patterns, including increases in fortified sites, and quantitative and qualitative advances in weaponry. Kohl also argues forcefully that the main task of the archaeologist should be to write culture-history on a spatially and temporally grand scale in an effort to detect large, macrohistorical processes of interaction and shared development.

Sleeping Rough in Port-au-Prince: An Ethnography of Street Children and Violence in Haiti


J. Christopher Kovats-Bernat - 2006
    . . . a superb reading of Haiti's political culture and its impact on the street child's daily life as lived in a culture of violence for them and other citizens of this nation state."--Philip L. Kilbride, Bryn Mawr CollegeIn this ethnographic analysis of the cultural lives of children who are "sleeping rough" in Port-au-Prince, Kovats-Bernat expands the traditional bounds of anthropological thought, which have only recently permitted a scholarly treatment of "the child" as a valuable informant, relevant witness, and active agent of social change. Refuting the commonplace notion that street children are unsocialized, Hobbesian mongrels, the author finds these children adopt strategies to carve a social and cultural space for themselves on the contested streets of Port-au-Prince, individually and collectively playing a surprisingly vital role in Haiti's civic life as they shape their own complex political, economic, and cultural identities.Kovats-Bernat conducted his fieldwork from 1994 to 2004--the violent decade of Haiti's transition from a dictatorship to a democracy. Witnessing firsthand the effects of political and civil violence and poverty on the cultural lives of the Haitian people as well as the 2004 uprising of rebel soldiers against the government, he saw the Haitian president ousted and yet another violent transfer of political power in Haiti. The book also draws on the author's experience living on the streets with scores of street children, as well as their encounters with paramilitary agents, national policemen, former Haitian army soldiers, aid and development workers, United Nations and U.S. officials, the deposed president Jean-Bertrand Aristide, death squad members, and Vodou bush priests.This comprehensive, accessible account of the social and cultural worlds inhabited by dispossessed children in Haiti is recommended for anthropologists, sociologists, and scholars of Latin American, Haitian, and Caribbean studies.J. Christopher Kovats-Bernat is assistant professor of anthropology at Muhlenberg College.

To The Ends of The Earth: 100 maps that changed the world


Jeremy Harwood - 2006
    It addresses how maps have been used for navigation, exploration, wartime propaganda and planning and also to project national goals.the result is a definitive, fact-packed, fresh and lively study that readers, no matter how much or how little they may know about the subject already, will find informative, insightful and absorbing.

Barron's Pocket Factbook: Countries of the World: Essential Facts about the Countries of the World and Their Peoples


Daniel Smith - 2006
    Each title in Barron's Pocket Factbooks seroes focuses on one of the natural or social sciences. It presents fascinating, sometimes little-known facts about its subject, as well as answers to frequently-asked questions. These books make handy reference sources for students, freelance writers, and general readers who are interested in finding out the how, where, when, and why--the specific facts and details relating to science, technology, natural history, and social history. All titles in this series are filled with attractive color photos and illustrations.

100 Facts on Ancient Rome


Belinda Gallagher - 2006
    

St Kildan Heritage


Calum MacFhearghuis - 2006
    The author has provided an English translation of his work for readers to understand the heritage and culture of this remote settlement off the northwest coast of Scotland.

Moscow (Insight City Guides)


Brian Bell - 2006
    This guide also includes travel tips for transport, accommodation, activities and practical information, area maps, and a removable Restaurant Guide.

The Long Follow: J. Michael Fay's Epic Trek Across the Last Great Forests of Central Africa


David Quammen - 2006
    Michael Fay set off on a grueling 465-day trek through Congo's darkest jungles to Gabon's virgin shore. In The Long Follow, critically-acclaimed essayist David Quammen chronicles that harrowing feat (famously named the Megatransect) and makes it the heart of his engrossing, wide-ranging look both at the rich history of past great African expeditions and at the modern scientific understanding of tropical biology and conservation in 21st century Africa. But, The Long Follow is above all a character study of the man at its center, J. Michael Fay. A New Jersey native long since expatriated to Central Africa, this peculiarly forceful and cantankerous figure is a worthy successor to the bold, often wildly eccentric explorers of yore. Deeply devoted to elephants and gorillas, militaristic in his leadership style, obsessive, sometimes charming, sometimes obnoxious, always brilliant and rawhide tough—and, as Quammen learned during several months with Fay on his epic trek, he's as fascinating as he is exasperating. With all its hard edges and paradoxical convolutions, Fay's singular character, even more than his monumental achievement, shapes this remarkable book. The perfect combination of a compelling and colorful subject with a consumately gifted writer, The Long Follow will mesmerize armchair adventurers, nature lovers, and anyone interested in Africa's least known places.